Thursday, November 22: Zechariah 1 -Love extended.

Happy Thankgiving!

Thanksgiving is a wonderful US holiday. Families get together to enjoy each others’ company, to break bread and eat turkey and simply be with one another, without the pressure of buying the right present for everyone. I hope you have a great day. And if your day is less than the ideal mentioned above, I hope and pray that the Lord is very close to you this Thanksgiving day, filling any and every void in your life…

My reading for today was not particularly Thanksgiving-ish but for me, God’s Word is precious and is the source from which my life with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit grows….

I read and re-read this chapter.  Lord, speak to me. Let me hear Your voice. Give me a nugget for today, for my soul is starved for Your Word.

I began reading again and this time words left the page and touched my heart. "The LORD was very angry with your forefathers. Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Return to me,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' says the LORD Almighty. Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.' But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the LORD (2-4).

God was inviting His people to return to Him. Prophets were sent. God’s Word embedded with forgiveness and restoration was extended.

What would Israel do? Would they turn toward God or run from God, as they had done in the past?

It was as if God was reminding me that we all have a choice. We, too, can turn toward God or run from the Almighty when He speaks, when He confronts us with our sin, when He calls us to repent and return…

What will we do? What will I do when God reaches out to me?

I will call out to the Lord. Where else would help come from? To whom else can I turn to find words of life and love and forgiveness?

Lord, I turn to You. Search me and know me. Examine me and cleanse me from all sin, for I have been sinful since birth. Sin-filled since I was conceived before You. Have mercy on me I pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.